Arthrodesis is a surgical procedure for artificially inducing joint ossification between two bones. Arthrodesis may be performed to relieve pain in a joint which cannot be managed by more conservative approaches, such as medication, splints, or the like. The typical causes of such pain are fractures which disrupt the joint, and arthritis. Arthrodesis may be performed for fusing damaged, deteriorating, or fractured tibia, talus and calcaneus bones in the ankle region. Arthrodesis may be used to treat Charcot midfoot deformity, including bone resection and/or osteotomy to reduce deformity.
Arthrodesis procedures often include fastening a bone plate to the surface of a bone, typically at both sides of a joint line to support and/or stabilize the joint. Bone plates have often been attached to the bones with bone screws that extend from the plate into the bone. In some examples, the head of the bone screw is locked to the plate (e.g., by threaded engagement between the screw head and the bone plate) and in other plates the head of the screw is free to angulate with respect to the plate, such that a polyaxial screw may be placed in the bone at a surgeon-selected angle. In yet other examples, the screw head may cooperate with the bone plate to provide compression or distraction of the joint (i.e., to push the bone fragments towards or away from one another).
Bone plates stabilize the treated bones to prevent relative motion between the bones during the prolonged fusion period, which may last for several months. Patients are typically advised to keep weight off of the treated foot during the fusion period. If, however, the patient is non-compliant and walks on the treated foot, the foot and bone plate are subjected to undesirable bending forces.
Improved bone plates are desired.